White-tailed Eagle
The White-tailed Eagle ''(Haliaeetus albicilla), or '''Sea Eagle', is a large bird of prey. Description The White-tailed Eagle is a large bird, 69–92 cm (27–36 in) long with a 182–244 cm (72–96 in) wingspan. Females, weighing 4–6.9 kg (8.8–15.2 lbs), are slightly larger than males, which weigh 3.1-5.4 kg (6.8–12 lbs). It is the fourth largest eagle in the World. It has broad "barn door" wings, a large head and a thick "meat-cleaver" beak. The adult is mainly brown except for the paler head and neck, blackish flight feathers, distinctive white tail, and yellow bill and legs. In juvenile birds the tail and bill are darker, with the tail becoming white with a dark terminal band in sub-adults. Some individuals have been found to live over 25 years, 21 years on average. Diet The Eagle's diet is varied, including fish, birds (in particular: waterbirds), carrion and, occasionally, small mammals. Many birds live almost wholly as scavengers, regularly pirating food from otters and other birds, but this eagle can be a powerful hunter as well. Locally, this species may compete fiercely with Golden Eagles over the rabbits and hares either eagle may catch. The daily food requirement is in the region of 500-600 g. Although a less active hunter than the Golden Eagle, and usually losing out to them in direct competition for a single food item, they can exist at higher population densities and out-compete Golden Eagles because of their longer gut and more efficient digestive system, being able to live better with less food. White-Tailed Eagles will also steal prey from other birds and even, surprisingly, otters. They will hunt for fish, swooping down across an area of water (e.g. a lake etc.) then plunge their talons into the water grabbing the fish or waterbird. Breeding White-tailed Eagles are sexually mature at four or five years of age. They pair for life, though if one dies replacement can occur quickly. A bond is formed when a permanent home range is chosen. They have a characteristic aerial courtship display which culminates in the pair locking talons mid-air and whirling earthwards in series of spectacular cartwheels. White-tailed Eagles are much more vocal than Golden Eagles, particularly during the breeding season and especially the male when near the eyrie. Calls can sometimes take on the form of a duet between the pair. The nest is a huge edifice of sticks in a tree or on a coastal cliff Being faithful to their territories, once they breed, nests are often reused, sometimes for decades by successive generations of birds; one nest in Iceland has been in use for over 150 years. In Scandinnavia, trees have been known to collapse under the weight of enormous, long established nests. The territory of the White-tailed Eagle ranges between 30 and 70 km², normally in sheltered coastal locations. Sometimes they are found inland by lakes and along rivers. The territory of the White-tailed Eagles can overlap with the territory of the Golden Eagle, and competition between the two species is limited. Golden Eagles prefer mountains and moorland, while the White-tailed Eagle prefers the coast and the sea. Mated pairs produce one to three eggs per year with two being the most usual number. The eggs are laid two to five days apart in March or April and are incubated for 38 days by both parents. Once hatched, chicks are quite tolerant of one another, although the first hatched is often larger and dominant at feeding times. The female does most of the brooding and direct feeding, with the male taking over now and then. Young are able to feed themselves from five to six weeks and they fledge at eleven to twelve weeks, remaining in the vicinity of the nest, dependent on their parents for a further six to ten weeks. The sex of nestlings can be identified using field methods, or using DNA. After the juveniles have left their parents they will often meet up with other recently fedged eagles and form temporary "bands". Hunting together and perfecting their hunting techniques until they are old enough to mate. Conservation Surplus chicks are sometimes removed from nests to use in reintroduction programs in areas where the species has died out. If left in the nest, they are often killed by the first-hatched sooner or later, as in most large eagles. In such programs, the birds are raised in boxes on platforms in the tree canopy and fed in such a way that they cannot see the person supplying their food, until they are old enough to fly and thus find their own food. In Britain the White-tailed Eagle became totally extinct in the early 1900's; the eagles had become extinct in England and Wales in the 1800's and the last of the White-tailed Eagles had been killed in 1918. Apart from a few stray vagrants none of these eagles visited our shores. In the 1970's a breeding program started which was met with sucess and today there are around 50 breeding pairs in the country. Recently, a controversial re-introduction program was suggested. Re-introduce the White-tailed Eagle to Suffolk. Archeological evidence suggests that these eagles were once inhabitants of the lowlands of England and this is backed up by the fact that outside of Britain the eagles are very much birds of low-lying areas. However, this plan never got the go-ahead partly due to fears from a number of people worried that the eagles may take animals from farms. Gallery Channel Islands absent.jpg|Distribution of White-tailed Eagles White Tailed Eagle Map.jpg|Distribution of White-tailed Eagles in the UK Category:Birds Category:Raptors & Owls Category:Accipitriformes Category:Vertebrates Category:Chordata Category:Accipitridae